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Ben Carson: U.S. should use 'truth serum' in terrorist interrogations

Longshot Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson suggested the United States should add the use of "truth serum" to its list of interrogation tactics for suspected terrorists.

Carson made the comments during an appearance on CNN, after he was asked whether he agreed with frontrunner Donald Trump that waterboarding is "the least form of torture."

“I believe there are a number of ways to extract information, including some medical ways of, you know, putting people into a less-than-conscious state which allows information to be extracted much more humanely," Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said.

"Well the average person might understand it as 'truth serum,' but, you know, there are ways where you decrease a person's conscious defenses and they might be more willing to give up useful information," said Carson, adding that the scientific name for so-called "truth serum" is sodium amytal.

Sodium amytal is a drug known for its hallucinogenic properties.

This is not the first head-scratching comment Carson has made in the past few days.

In an interview with Politico published Tuesday, Carson said President Barack Obama was "raised white" and didn't have the same "experience of black Americans."

Carson is currently in Nevada for the state's caucus Tuesday night.

He performed poorly in the first three nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and is not expected to have a good showing in Nevada on Tuesday.

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